Metallurgy is one of mankind's greatest achievements. From the time it first began, about 9,000 years ago in the Near East, metalwork transformed societies and community life. When man discovered the malleability, hardness and resistance of copper, of iron, and of alloys of these, he used them for making tools, weapons and utensils; when he marvelled at the beautiful colour and the shine of gold and silver, and at the unchanging eternity of golden metal, he created symbols with them which honoured those who governed him and recreated his gods.

Metallurgy was invented at different times in various parts of the world. There were diverse, independent metallurgical developments in Anatolia, China, the Great Lakes region in North America, and in the Central Andes. Some of these developments, such as those in South America, spread over wide areas.
Goldwork reached Colombia from the south 2,500 years ago. The ancient goldsmiths in this region continued the tradition of experimenting with gold, copper and alloys of these, and invented or perfected techniques like casting using the lost wax method, or welding by granulation. They even discovered how to work platinum, a metal that Europe was not able to use until the 18th century, due to its high fusion temperatures. .

Metallurgy, as with technologies in general, is closely interwoven with the view of the world, politics, economics and social organisation. When the goldworking inhabitants of Colombia chose materials and manufacturing techniques and organised production, they did so not only because they were influenced by technical requirements but also, and mainly, due to cultural and social factors. But just as it was a product of all this, so metallurgy transformed society.

Qué es un metal

Oro, cobre, plata y platino

Historia de la metalurgia

The earliest metallurgical remains on South America have been found in Peru and Ecuador: small hammered sheets of native gold and copper, dating from 1500 B.C. It was around that time that the rulers of Andean societies began to build their power by wearing luxury items such as ornaments made of gold.

In southern South America, the manufacturing of objects from hammered sheets of copper and of bronze alloys predominated. In the territory now known as Colombia, the earliest remains are hammered gold objects dating from 500 B.C. Here, complex techniques were developed, such as casting using the lost wax method and employing gold and copper alloys, and these later spread to Central America and the Caribbean.

Miners were respected specialists who were held in high esteem because they knew the secrets of the earth and how to extract metals from it. Goldsmiths also held a dual status, since they combined technical and supernatural knowledge in their work: many of them were religious and political leaders.

Mountainous areas of the country are the richest in gold, while platinum exists in Colombia in alluvial deposits in Chocó, Cauca and Nariño. Copper was obtained from minerals like malachite, azurite or pyrite, which were found frequently in the geological strata of the cordilleras. Native copper can be found on the Serranía de Perijá, in Antioquia, and in the southern part of the country.

In its natural state, gold sometimes contains impurities in the form of silver and other metals: it is an argentiferous gold. The silver content affects both its colour and its physical and chemical properties. There do not seem to have been any specific silver-mining activities, although it was probably mined in Nariño.

The instruments of ancient miners were stone axes, hammers and wooden bars with fire-hardened tips used for removing gravel and stones from the rivers and to dig into the veins of gold.
The most common form of mining was panning in alluvial deposits. The gold-bearing sands of shallow streams were washed in wooden or pottery pans, using a circular movement. The small grains of gold and platinum, which were heavier, remained in the bottom.

In nature, metals can be found in native state, ready to be worked. Nevertheless, as in the case of copper, they are encountered more frequently as minerals and oxides which have to be melted using fire inside furnaces in reducing atmospheres –without oxygen– in order to extract the metal. This is what is referred to as smelting metals.
Smelting furnaces were built on the tops of mountains, where air currents kept the fire going. Small, portable clay furnaces were used, as well. The coals were blown using bamboo reeds which had pottery tips fitted at the end, to keep the temperature up. Some blowpipes have faces on them, demonstrating the symbolic importance of transforming ore into metal.

The metal was smelted in clay crucibles with coal and flux, which helped remove impurities: what was left were ingots, ready to be worked. Metals were also mixed together in crucibles so that alloys could be obtained, such as tumbaga, which is a combination of argentiferous gold and copper.